Blissful, nourished & free

Tag: farm fresh

Just two weeks ago I turned 29. That felt a little weird to type or even think about. It’s odd to think I was just 18 when I started this blog. Where in the HECK did the time go? I was just a freshman in college and now I’m married thinking about kids. That provides a whole lot of perspective. I look at my blog and see how my taste in food has evolved over the years. I mean just by looking at the title of this post you can see how much I’ve decided to dip my toes into the ever expanding world of food. Nettles? Ramps? If you asked me 10 years ago what those things were I would have probably shrugged and not even know where to get them.

In true Taurus foodie fashion I welcomed my day of birth with deliciousness. An almond milk latte, avocado toast (not made by me) for brunch and a broccoli rabe pasta dish with a luscious creamy cheesy sauce garnished with slivered almonds (yea…talk about decadent af), an entire bottle of Valpolicella for dinner and a strawberry tart made by my fave french bakery for singing Happy Birthday. Simple elegance.

I decided that this year is all about simplicity, presence, playfulness and gratitude. My kitchen intentions are to continue to provide simple healthy seasonal eats as often as possible. I working out of this culinary rut, I promise. I don’t know how many freakin’ pesto recipes I have put on my blog but this one is different!!! Trust!!

Have you ever seen a nettle? Or a ramp?

Stinging Nettles (copyright Uwe H. Friese, Bremerhaven 2003)

Nettles or stinging nettles are a wild edible plant that has small sharp hairs that can actually irritate the skin. The weird part is even with that small inconvenience, it is nutrient-rich, a natural antihistamine (buh bye seasonal allergies), helps control blood sugar and a few other things (check it out here).

Ramps are the hot thang right now and to be honest I had NO idea what they were until last year. These wild, foraged leeks are only in season for a short period of time and if you’re not shopping at the farmer’s market can run up your grocery bill. The taste is similar to a leek that had a baby with garlic. Using it up in a pesto gives you an earthy, creamy, garlicky flavor without it being overwhelmingly garlicky.

Like this:

I’m back! Yea I’ve been a little MIA but I needed some time to just do absolutely nothing. Have you ever done that? That’s exactly what Matt and I did for the last 2 weeks. We decided that instead of going on vacation we would just enjoy time together at home, binge-watching The Walking Dead and just savoring every moment of nothingness. And a few trips to Momofuku Milk Bar for some Cereal Milk Icecream (don’t knock it till you try it- it’s heaven).

Of course, this gave me an opportunity to really start experimenting with some new fall recipes, plan our wedding without stress and gear up for the fun of the upcoming season. I just want to decorate the house with pumpkins. I kid you not we have about 10 baby pumpkins and you can count on me to add even more to the house.

There is something refreshing about the fall. Even though the summer is great and all of that, I just feel like the fall is a great time to start over. To get back on track and get ready to get shit done. And for the last month of summer I’ve felt lazy. I just wanted to sleep, I just didn’t even want to think about the to-do lists or working out every day. I just really wanted to enjoy the fruits of summer. And you know what? That’s totally okay. Summer is meant to be a vacation (and it really should be- we all work hard!) and the fall is back to the grind. I am so ready for it.